Tiklado: A Selection of Classical Piano Pieces from the Philippines
Faculty Advisor Name
Dr. Gabriel Dobner
Department
School of Music
Description
The JMU School of Music has welcomed its students and faculty members’ interests in seeking works from underrepresented composers. The trend is inspired by the decentralization of the classical music history, which used to only feature composers from Western Europe. Several efforts have been made, including requiring doctoral piano students at JMU to perform and research on works composed after 1950 and feature composers from underrepresented cultures. This trend extends at a national level, as several musicologists, performers, and pedagogues have made significant conversations to include repertoire past the Eurocentric canon. Doctoral student Denzel Abarquez has decided to render a performance of solo piano repertoire from the Philippines a contribution to this conversation.
The Spanish and American Occupation in the Philippines heavily shaped the country’s culture and its perception of value. Filipino classical musicians such as Francisco Buencamino (1883-1952), Felipe Padilla de Leon (1912-1992), and Alfredo Buenaventura (b. 1929) sought to elevate the Filipino identity through expressions of folk melodies, dances, and forms using the classical piano. The three pieces featured in this performance invoke the essence of national identity through a combination of Western traditional harmonies with Philippine folk melodies. The pieces will be performed in reverse chronological order.
Maligayang Bati is a short show piece that features a theme from balitaw, an energetic Filipino folk dance in triple time. The title roughly translates to “A Joyful Greeting.” Composed in 1944, Buencamino wrote heavily in the Romantic idiom, channeling the virtuosity of the likes of Franz Liszt through a display of difficult octave leaps and cross-hand passages.
Kundiman is a Filipino art song form that gained popularity during the turn of the 20th century. At the time, Filipinos yearned for freedom and independence and turned to music to express their patriotic sentiments. De Leon composed Kundiman for solo piano in 1950, following the art song’s form and style. His compositional innovations include post-Romantic tonalities, evidenced by the use of whole tone and pentatonic scales alongside chromaticism.
Buenaventura’s Emotions no. 2 is a part of a three-piece set of Emotions written for solo piano. This particular work was commissioned in 1976 by the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) and was provided as a contest piece for young pianists who made it to the final round. Buenaventura wrote all three Emotions in ternary form (ABA). The A section expresses turbulences in modern tonalities with the use of quartal and quintal harmonies while the B section features contrasting consonance, using diatonic and pentatonic harmony.
Tiklado: A Selection of Classical Piano Pieces from the Philippines
The JMU School of Music has welcomed its students and faculty members’ interests in seeking works from underrepresented composers. The trend is inspired by the decentralization of the classical music history, which used to only feature composers from Western Europe. Several efforts have been made, including requiring doctoral piano students at JMU to perform and research on works composed after 1950 and feature composers from underrepresented cultures. This trend extends at a national level, as several musicologists, performers, and pedagogues have made significant conversations to include repertoire past the Eurocentric canon. Doctoral student Denzel Abarquez has decided to render a performance of solo piano repertoire from the Philippines a contribution to this conversation.
The Spanish and American Occupation in the Philippines heavily shaped the country’s culture and its perception of value. Filipino classical musicians such as Francisco Buencamino (1883-1952), Felipe Padilla de Leon (1912-1992), and Alfredo Buenaventura (b. 1929) sought to elevate the Filipino identity through expressions of folk melodies, dances, and forms using the classical piano. The three pieces featured in this performance invoke the essence of national identity through a combination of Western traditional harmonies with Philippine folk melodies. The pieces will be performed in reverse chronological order.
Maligayang Bati is a short show piece that features a theme from balitaw, an energetic Filipino folk dance in triple time. The title roughly translates to “A Joyful Greeting.” Composed in 1944, Buencamino wrote heavily in the Romantic idiom, channeling the virtuosity of the likes of Franz Liszt through a display of difficult octave leaps and cross-hand passages.
Kundiman is a Filipino art song form that gained popularity during the turn of the 20th century. At the time, Filipinos yearned for freedom and independence and turned to music to express their patriotic sentiments. De Leon composed Kundiman for solo piano in 1950, following the art song’s form and style. His compositional innovations include post-Romantic tonalities, evidenced by the use of whole tone and pentatonic scales alongside chromaticism.
Buenaventura’s Emotions no. 2 is a part of a three-piece set of Emotions written for solo piano. This particular work was commissioned in 1976 by the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) and was provided as a contest piece for young pianists who made it to the final round. Buenaventura wrote all three Emotions in ternary form (ABA). The A section expresses turbulences in modern tonalities with the use of quartal and quintal harmonies while the B section features contrasting consonance, using diatonic and pentatonic harmony.
